Dr. Michel Têtu, an emeritus professor
from Université Laval in Québec City,
“are the availability of highly qualified
technical personnel, the presence of
world-class research centers and institutes
working closely with industry, the proximity to key markets in the US and Canada,
a dynamic business environment and a
strong commitment from governments to
support the industry.

Québec City, the provincial capital, has
taken special care to home in on photonics
in its quest to build a tech-centered creative economy.

Local economic development agency
Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches works
closely with Montréal-based Investisse-ment Québec as well as area companies
and institutions to ensure the success of
photonics-related endeavors. Pôle does it
all, from facilitating the formation of research and business partnerships between
local entities to hosting events and conferences to promoting the area as a desirable
spot for expanding foreign companies.

Nonprofit photonics advancement group
Québec Photonic Network (QPN), of
which Têtu also is president and CEO,
serves as a networking and information
hub, working to bring together companies,
government departments and organizations
involved in the area’s optics-photonics
industry.

Pôle and the QPN have a big job
because there is so much going on with
photonics in Québec.

“We have a strong history in optics and
photonics research activities dating back
to the late forties, Têtu said. Research centers strive to innovate at the basic research
and industrial levels; so do major companies such as test and measurement leader
Exfo, health science and optoelectronics
market powerhouse PerkinElmer, spec-

The Centre d’optique, photonique et
laser (COPL) is Canada’s largest university research center in optics/photonics.
As a strategic cluster of optics/photonics
researchers from a number of Québec
province universities, COPL strives to
perform both fundamental and applied
research; to support industry; and to train
the next generation of optics/photonics
scientists. Other Québec research institutions with wide-ranging interests include
the National Optics Institute, a design and
development firm based in Québec City,
and the Defence R&D Canada facility in
Valcartier, Québec.

“The photonics industry in Québec
province is mainly small and medium enterprises which are very diverse, covering
many application domains,” said Robert
Corriveau, president and CEO of the
Québec City-based Canadian Institute for
Photonic Innovations (CIPI), part of the
national Network of Centres of Excellence. CIPI fosters interaction among
Canadian scientists from universities,
government and industry through research
and networking programs.

More than 100 companies in the
province generate nearly 5000 jobs; in
2007, 1685 of those jobs fell into the
research category. Sixty-nine percent of
Québec photonics companies employ

The Pavilion of Optics and Photonics (POP), which opened in 2006 at Université Laval in Québec City, is the
home of the Centre d’optique, photonique et laser and the administrative office of the Canadian Institute for
Photonic Innovations. Courtesy of Pierre Bolduc.